Now more than ever, it is important that we encourage young girls and women to enter into the engineering field. The dedication, innovation, and perseverance of our female employee-owners is truly inspiring. By breaking barriers and achieving remarkable feats in engineering, they are not only advancing technology but also paving the way for future generations. They are powerful role models for young girls everywhere and their achievements show them that they too can dream big, believe in their abilities, and pursue their goals fearlessly.
On this Girl Day, learn more about the women at Tata & Howard and their reasoning for becoming engineers and what their beliefs are with regard to women in STEM.
Karen Gracey, Co-President
My passion for engineering stems from my love for math, which naturally led me to pursue a career in civil and environmental engineering. I was driven by a desire to make a tangible difference in the world and to develop solutions for our ever-changing environment.
During my college years, I faced unique challenges as one of only three women in the civil engineering program. Often, I found myself as the sole woman in my classes, including my differential equations course. This situation could have easily been a source of intimidation, but I chose to see it as an opportunity to empower myself and challenge the gender divide. By embracing this mindset, I not only overcame the obstacles but also excelled academically, achieving one of the highest grades in the class that semester.
This experience reinforced my commitment to engineering and my belief in the importance of diversity and inclusion in STEM fields. It taught me the value of resilience and the power of determination, shaping me into the engineer I am today.
Allison Shivers, Project Manager
I decided/was inspired to go into engineering because I felt that engineering could allow me to work on something that I was interested in and also make an impact on the world at the same time. It was exciting to think that I could take part in projects that would ultimately have a direct impact on lives through designing infrastructure and/or helping to find solutions to environmental issues. Also, I think I had a desire to push back on the stereotype that engineering is only for certain people.
I think we can encourage more young girls to choose engineering by exposing them to more women in the industry. If female engineers can be highlighted more, then young girls can see that engineering is not only for men. An example of something small we can do is maybe try to volunteer to speak to elementary school classes about what we do and how we contribute so that at a young age they are not just associating engineering as a male occupation. This would especially be helpful as a female led company, to highlight women in all levels of the field. Another idea is to make a video compilation highlighting women in engineering to be shared somehow for exposure.
Katie Carreira, Project Manager
I chose to pursue engineering in high school. I was always more interested in math and science than anything else, but having a variety of STEM classes available to me in high school, and excelling at those STEM classes, is what gave me the confidence to pursue engineering in college. I had an interest in solving real-life problems, and that inspired my career path. I think having a variety of STEM classes available to me in high school, including smaller advanced classes that were taught by male and female teachers alike was a key factor in pushing me into the engineering field.
I think it’s very important to encourage more young girls to choose engineering so that in time we can have a more diverse and robust engineering field. One thing that may help is more representation – if young girls can see themselves represented in the engineering field, that can inspire them and show them that they can excel at engineering just as much as anyone else. It would be great if young girls had more exposure to examples of women engineers and the cool things we do – whether through TV and films, social media, or through school programs and outreach.
Brianna Sullivan, Senior Project Designer
My inspiration was my first mentor, who was the brightest woman I had ever met, and who taught me how to move forward in this field. I took some additional English and poetry courses in college and wrote this poem, inspired by her:
She doesn’t sketch her dreams in pastel,
but in concrete, CAD, and carbon steel—
a girl who maps the bones of bridges,
whose compass spins for rivers, ridges,
& blueprint lines like veins, alive,
to birth a road, reroute a tide.
She’ll draft her worth in wastewater schemes,
in wind turbines’ spin, solar arrays’ gleam,
in the carbon chains she dares unbind—
a world remade by the force of her mind.
No war but the work, no crown but the cause,
she bends the rules, rewrites the laws,
not to claim a seat, but to build a table
where tomorrow’s girls sketch the impossible.
Her legacy? Clean water, clean air, and this:
A planet that breathes because she insists.
Kimberly Frary, Engineer II
I was inspired to pursue a career in engineering because I grew up hearing about my Mom’s early career as a computer engineer and we were encouraged as kids to explore STEM topics of interest outside of school. My interest in water and environmental concerns was developed in high school by taking STEM electives. Also, having a few friends that took the same classes helped me feel more confident in stepping outside of my comfort zone and we helped each other study. I think young girls can be inspired to pursue a career in STEM by seeing other women succeed and by having a support network that nurtures their interests.
Check out our last blog post to read more on our amazing team of women here at Tata and Howard.
Women Who Are Driving Change at Tata & Howard 
The Road Ahead
Twenty-five years ago, when Tata & Howard was a newly established company, graduating classes from engineering schools may have been 1-2 percent women. As recently as 2016, about 20 percent of graduating engineers were female, and today, Tata & Howard stands out in the Water and Wastewater industry out as a 100% employee-owned company, led by two women co-president engineers, and 38 percent of its workforce being female engineers.
This week is Engineers Week, which is celebrated in February of each year, and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day always falls during Engineers Week. Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day 2017 fell on February 23 this year, and since “Girl Day” is very important to Tata & Howard, we decided to celebrate the day by inviting local middle school girls to come into the office for a special event. The evening was a great success – and also quite a bit of fun!
The evening started with a brief introduction given by Karen, including a story of her experience at the University of Vermont, where she was sometimes the only female in her engineering classes. Justine Carroll, P.E., Project Manager and Team Leader, then presented a slideshow on environmental engineering and talked about the services provided by Tata & Howard, after which the female engineers each shared their personal journeys to choosing the engineering field. The girls then enjoyed a dinner of pizza and salad during which Amanda Cavaliere, Project Manager and Team Leader, led a discussion on the value of great teachers.
